- Beware Ferengi bearing gifts. Capt. Picard receives the Stargazer, a ship considered lost that he once commanded.
- The Enterprise is ordered to rendezvous with a Ferengi vessel for reasons that are not made clear to Capt. Picard. They meet as scheduled but the Ferengi simply ignore them for a period of time. Finally, they reveal the purpose of their trip - to return to the Federation the USS Stargazer, a ship that Picard once commanded and for which he is credited with a particularly important maneuver, one that is now taught in battle tactics at the Academy. Picard is please to see his old ship but has been suffering from headaches lately. With Dr. Crusher concerned, the Captain just goes on as usual. Picard's condition worsens as it is revealed a member of the Ferengi crew is out to avenge the death of his son in the battle for which Picard gained such recognition. It's left to Commander Riker and his Ferengi counterpart to sort it all out.—garykmcd
- The Enterprise is ordered to rendezvous with a Ferengi vessel for reasons that are not made clear to Captain Picard. They meet as scheduled but the Ferengi simply ignore them for some time. Finally, the Ferengi Commander DaiMon Bok (Frank Corsentino) (& his 1st officer Kazago (Douglas Warhit) & 2nd officer Rata (Robert Towers)) reveal the purpose of their trip - to return to the Federation the USS Stargazer, a ship that Picard once commanded and for which he is credited with a particularly important maneuver. An alien vessel had damaged Stargazer's shield. As it moved in for a kill, Picard executed a high warp speed and stopped right in front of the vessel and fired all phasers and torpedoes, destroying it. This tactic is now taught in battle tactics at the Academy.
9 years ago, Picard had encountered an unidentified vessel in the Maxia star system and destroyed it, that vessel is now revealed to be a Ferengi by DaiMon. Picard's record shows that the vessel attacked the Stargazer and Picard was forced to defend. Picard is pleased to see his old ship but has been suffering from headaches lately. He gets quite caught up in the history of that day on his ship and refers to it as if it was happening right now.
With Dr. Crusher concerned, the captain just goes on as usual. Picard's condition worsens when he goes aboard the Stargazer. Hidden in his old cabin is a device which is causing his headaches. It is revealed that this device is controlled by a member of the Ferengi crew is out to avenge the death of his son in the battle for which Picard gained such recognition.
Data looks at the logs from the Stargazer, which reveals that the ship that Picard fired on was under a flag of truce and Picard fired on it without notice or provocation. The fire on the ship was due an accident in engineering and not due to any Ferengi attack. Riker thinks that the log was forged by the Ferengi, but he still reveals it to Picard and says that as per regulations, he needs to report this to Starfleet.
Riker contacts Kazago and asks if DaiMon knows about the logs on Stargazer, and if they could be forged. Kazago feels insulted and shuts out Riker. That night Picard sleeps and relives the entire incident in his mind, as it is taught in the academy. But the whole scenario is planted and controlled by the Ferengi operator. Data determines the logs retrieved from the Stargazer to be forgeries.
Picard orders Riker to release the Stargazer from the Enterprise tractor beams. Wesley tells Beverly that Picard's brain scans show the same waves that are being emitted on a low frequency band from the Ferengi ship. Beverly and Deanna report to Riker and says that something is impacting Picard's thought patterns. They figure out that the waves were amplified by a device in Picard's cabin, which came with his personal belongings transferred from the Stargazer.
Riker learns that Picard has transported over to the stargazer and has powered the ship. The Ferengi on the stargazer plants his device on the bridge and reveals to Picard how his son was captain of the ship Picard destroyed. Under the influence of the device, Picard orders the computers of Stargazer to execute the same maneuver, but against the Enterprise. Riker again hails Kazago and shows him the amplifier. Kazago reveals the mystery Ferengi to be his own captain DaiMon Bok and Kazago arrests Bok.
Riker holds the Stargazer in a tractor beam, so it can't execute the Picard Manoeuvre and appeals to Picard to destroy the mind control device, which he does. Picard is free from Bok's influence and is beamed back to the Enterprise.
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